A large and growing population of users is using mobile phones for a variety of purposes, including keeping in touch with family members, conducting business, and communicating in the event of an emergency. Phone calls and text messaging are two of the most common modalities of phone-based communications, including phone-based communications between 2 users or 3 or more users (e.g., conference calls, group text messaging, etc.). A phone call implies a request to use the talking-listening modality while a text message implies a request to use the typing-reading modality. However, sometimes users may not be able to effectively communicate with each other using a single modality. For example, speaking on the phone may not be practical or possible for a user during a meeting or in a noisy place (e.g., at a bar, a concert or a conference). Similarly, text messages may not be well suited when a user is driving, multi-tasking or otherwise distracted. When users cannot agree on the modality, the result is missed calls that are routed to voicemail and text messages going unanswered for long periods of time.